3 ms·

I expect a real answer when I ask it.

• logfromblammo 13y ago
  When I emit a NULL+POLITE+INVITATION linguistic token ("How's it going?"), I expect to either hear a NULL+POLITE+NONCOMMITAL ("Fine.") or a mood-conveying linguistic token ("Awful [and I will talk to you about why, if you're interested]."). I don't expect to hear actual conversational content until after I confirm whether I actually want to talk ("What happened?") or whether I was just being polite ("I hope you feel better."). If I don't want to talk at all, I will use a simpler NULL+POLITE token ("Good morning.") without the implicit invitation to open a conversation. It isn't that Americans don't expect a response. It's just that most Americans have different handshake formulas for starting a conversation. People who skip the initial negotiation might be perceived as chatty.